Shades of Lightning
by islandofhopex
Summary: An irritating, ignored part of Annabeth's head always kind of knew that things wouldn't end well between her and that daughter of Zeus, but it never could've guessed the reason why. Lots of Thalia/Annabeth with minor Percy/Annabeth.


Annabeth Chase loved being on the run more than she should have. Some of that she attributed to the freedom of it all, the way she could gaze at the skyscrapers without an irritated father yelling at her to hurry up. Some of that she also attributed to Luke Castellan, so brave and comfortable and everything she wanted to be. But most of that she attributed to the company of her best friend, Thalia Grace.

She loved every moment she spent with Thalia. She loved arguing over how to get supplies (Thalia always favored stealing—just out of necessity—while Annabeth struggled to maintain her morals and suggested earning money by doing little jobs). She loved crying in her friend's arms when it was dark and her stepmother's shrieks echoed in her head (_Don't you see? This is all because of her, your stupid daughter! She's the reason we have to check for monsters before crossing the street! She's single-handedly destroying our family!_). She loved entering the morning and putting on a tough act, as though her crying fits had never even happened (Thalia always played along, albeit with a touch of teasing at how Annabeth could never be as tough as herself). She loved digging her nails into Thalia's hand as they ran from their latest walking nightmare (Thalia always complained, but not once did she actually let go).

She thought things would be even better at that camp their satyr kept talking about. She and Thalia could instead argue over whose cabin was more impressive. They could destroy either each other or others in Capture The Flag, depending on which team the nearly-empty Zeus cabin was placed on. Maybe they could even get some alone time, away from Luke and those persistent monsters. Maybe Thalia would watch her voluntarily kick butt on the climbing wall and finally see her as more than just a little girl.

She supposed a part of her knew that one of them might not make it to camp. With all the immortals after them, it was inevitable that they'd lose at least one friend in the storm. But she never expected it to be Thalia who didn't make it past the border, the courageous and invincible and _her best friend_.

* * *

><p>When the Golden Fleece graced the pine tree that had haunted Annabeth's dreams, miraculously bringing her best friend back, everything was supposed to be fine again. She had Thalia back, the girl who could always fix any problem without trying. And they were, going against all the laws of science that Annabeth held so dearly, finally the same age. From this narrow view, it was like the Fates were giving her a second chance.<p>

Only when it wasn't. The time that had passed couldn't be ignored. Their beloved family member, both literally and figuratively, was trying to destroy them. Annabeth's head, once innocent and new to the idea of fighting, was filled with more horrors than she could have ever imagined. And Thalia was much more broken than Annabeth remembered. Wasting away in the form of a tree and waking up to a war would do that to you.

One of Annabeth's biggest regrets was just letting that be. When being with her best friend hurt, it was easier to pretend that she wasn't there at all. It was easier to pretend that they hadn't lost each other. It was easier to pretend that Percy's similarities with Thalia had no effect on her interest in him. It was easier to pretend she and Thalia were just camp friends, rather than friends with feelings time had tried to erode.

But, for once in her life, Annabeth was stupid. She didn't realize how ridiculous she was being—getting a second chance and discretely pushing it into the closet—until Thalia was walking away with those immortal virgins, a silver aura surrounding her.

Annabeth didn't usually like cursing individual gods, because she knew it could come back to haunt her, but she cursed Lady Artemis anyway. Still, somewhere in her, she knew that Artemis wasn't to blame. Annabeth had lost her first love not because of the storm brewing among the immortals, but because of the storm she herself had created.


End file.
